FAQs

What are the best places to get started on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning?
For a great set of resources, go HERE. If you would like a mentor or have questions to ask about SoTL, try out the SoTL Consultant HERE.

Where I can find ways to improve how I do assessment?
The APA hosted a Summit on the National Assessment of Psychology (SNAP) and curated exemplars from the summit will be available in June 2017 as part of a new web resource called Project Assessment. In the meantime, check out some resources HERE.

Do I need to get IRB approval (and what exactly is that) to do SoTL?
A great list of answers to this and other IRB questions HERE.

How many students take Intro Psych?We do not know for sure. Best estimates put it between 1.2 and 1.8 million students annually enroll in the course. CITATION: Gurung, R. A., Hackathorn, J., Enns, C., Frantz, S., Cacioppo, J. T., Loop, T., & Freeman, J. E. (2016). Strengthening introductory psychology: A new model for teaching the introductory course. American Psychologist, 71(2), 112-124. doi:10.1037/a0040012

What should I cover in Intro Psych?The APA taskforce on strengthening the Intro Psych course have clear recommendations on how to select what to cover. Pick at least two topics/chapters from each of the following pillars (link). For each, try to cover the cross-cutting themes. CITATION: American Psychological Association. (2014). Strengthening the Common Core of the Introductory Psychology Course. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, Board of Educational Affairs.

What are best practices for assessment of Intro Psych?The APA’s Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) commissioned a working group to address the need for a universal assessment of the introductory psychology course charged with “… developing a plan and identifying the necessary steps to create a universal assessment to measure introductory psychology students’ mastery of content knowledge and skills.” The final report with recommendations and using assessment tips will be available March 2017. CITATION: American Psychological Association (2017). Assessment of Outcomes of the Introductory Course in Psychology. Washington, DC: APA.